


This Is the Next World

by learningthetrees



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6280360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/learningthetrees/pseuds/learningthetrees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He'd never been very religious. He just had a hard time believing in a God that would let the line between the living and the dead blur until it was impossible to tell one from the other. But when you don’t believe in God, who do you confess to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is the Next World

**Author's Note:**

> This guy's been on my mind for the past few weeks, so naturally, I had to try my hand at writing Jesus.

He’d never been very religious.

It was essentially just the hair, the beard, and the generally positive outlook on life that had led to the nickname. If you’d asked him before the world fell apart, he probably would have said he was an atheist. And if you’d asked him after, he definitely would have said he was an atheist. He just had a hard time believing in a God that would let the line between the living and the dead blur until it was impossible to tell one from the other.

But when you don’t believe in God, who do you confess to?

As he held the gun out in front of him, took aim, and squeezed the trigger, Jesus tried to convince himself that he didn’t feel guilty. He _shouldn’t_ feel guilty. They were Saviors; they deserved it.

He could still remember, in exact detail, the moments just before Rory died. The instant Jesus had realized what was about to happen, he’d lunged forward, only to be grabbed and held back by a Savior on either side of him. He strained against them, but it was no good. And as he watched one after another take turns beating an innocent person — a kid — until his head lolled lifeless against his chest, Jesus could do nothing but close his eyes before he heard the crunch of bone.

Gregory had been immobilized, paralyzed. The man hadn’t done a thing, not then and not now. He’d conceded, playing right into the Saviors’ plan. They’d scared him, Jesus could tell.

Jesus wasn’t scared. He was just angry.

When the world fell, he immediately found his role: He was there to help, to support. When he found Hilltop, they’d been surviving. The community had what they needed at the time, but the people themselves were losing heart. It was easy to do in a world like this. Jesus wanted to believe he’d made a difference, lifting up what he could, taking action where Gregory wouldn’t. But how much could he do when everyone at Hilltop knew they weren’t in control? They’d made a deal, sealing their own fate — they were under the thumb of the Saviors. Under the thumb of —

It wasn’t hard to pull the trigger. Jesus made it just in time, turning the corner and putting down the shooter before he had a chance to hit his targets. He was saving lives: Glenn’s and Heath’s and anyone else the Saviors might have gone on to terrorize.

So he ignored the fact that his hand shook a little as he pulled the bandana from his face. He swallowed, adrenaline still rushing through his veins. He would never stand by and watch another Rory die. Jesus would never have been so cold before the world went to hell, but everything was different now. If he had anything to do with it, the Saviors would fall. Negan would die.

Jesus exhaled. “So. This is the next world.”

**Author's Note:**

> Want to talk about Jesus? I'm over at [ask-learningthetrees.tumblr.com](http://www.ask-learningthetrees.tumblr.com)!


End file.
